Return of the Doctor
by RoseWinter0720
Summary: This is a short one-shot about how I believe the Doctor should have returned at the end of season 5. The Doctor comes back before the wedding, and Amy has a choice to make. 11/Amy


_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, or any of its characters. _

Return of the Doctor

He stared at the door for a moment, his hand placing his top hat firmly on his head. She had called him back to reality, remembered him after he had been erased from the universe. He knew that he had to leave, to prove that he was alright, and to show her that she had saved him, but he was hesitating. He didn't want to see, but he didn't want to stay. It was a situation he had never wanted to be put in. He hated being in between.

"Doctor?" He heard through the doors, "Doctor, are you alright in there?"

'_No'_ he thought, but pushed the doors open anyway, entering what he expected to be a full out bash. The flickering lights confused him for a moment, and he couldn't see exactly where he was. He knew, but he was disoriented for just a moment. "Hello! Did you miss me?" He smiled his most winning smile while he spoke, letting his eyes adjust.

For a moment Amy was blinded herself. She had just been sitting there, staring at the silly little notebook, and it had seemed so wrong that it was just a notebook. She should have left five minutes ago, but she couldn't look away from the notebook. Sitting on her bed she had held it up, stared at how it looked in the corner of her room. Her frustration had built, she had become so focused on it, that it took her a moment before she heard herself whispering to herself.

"Something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new." She chanted it over, and over, and over, her mind slowly coming to the realization of what was happening. It was like a dame breaking in her mind, the memories of something that must have been a dream overwhelming her for a moment. It was painful. She was moving through so much time, so many memories, in such a short burst. How could this be real? How could HE be real.

But it was. She knew it had to be. He was real, "Raggedy Man, no, Raggedy Doctor" she murmured, and she had released it. She had released him. She had made him real, just with her thoughts and her mind. He had always known she could, and the universe popped, for just a second, as everything realigned itself as it had always been, as it should have been. He was back in the universe, her words bringing the idea to life.

The noise had taken over the room, this screeching, pulsing noise. A light filled the small free space left in her room, and she watched as the Doctors Blue Box filled her room. The correct name, TARDIS, came to her as she stared. She could feel the tears, feel the pain and sorrow, the joy and relief, that came with seeing that stupid blue box. She wanted to stop herself from walking forward, from making this real, but she couldn't. It didn't matter that she was in a wedding dress. It didn't matter that she was already late for the wedding, in front of her was the Doctor's TARDIS, and she wasn't going to leave him. Not again.

She ended up in front of the door. The hem of her wedding dress brushed up against the aging wood of the TARDIS, the fabric catching on the splinters. Gently Amy reached out her pale, shaking hands, knowing that when she touched the doors it would all be real. Her fingers hovered just above the handle, the weight of the situation keeping her breath caught in her chest. She had never been too serious, always preferring to live life as much as possible, and with as much joy as she could. But this? If she touched this door she knew her life would never be the same. It held her back, kept her trapped.

Amy grinned and tilted her head to the side. Maybe she didn't want to stay in this life, this boring, stuck up, no room to breathe, life. She reached her hand out and touched the handle, calling out "Doctor? Doctor, are you alright in there?"

The door was thrown open, and her brilliant Raggedy Doctor stood in the doorway, his usual heart-warming grin spread across his face. "Hello! Did you miss me?"

Amy laughed, and not being able to stop herself, threw her arms around him. He stumbled back a few steps, the unexpected weight pulling them down to the floor until the Doctor was covered by Amy and her wedding dress. The Doctor laughed with her, sitting them both up until she was hugging him from his lap, and he was staring out the door into her bedroom. _'Her bedroom? What the hell are we doing in her bedroom?'_ the Doctor thought, his mind whirling in circles, trying to figure out how he had returned to a moment before the wedding. She shouldn't have remembered him before the ceremony had ended. She should have married Rory, and then remembered him. She should be too preoccupied to think of him at all. Not that he was going to complain.

"Amelia Pond, you are brilliant, outstanding. I knew I could count on you. Absolutely fantastic." He smiled at her, trying to slowly place her farther away from him.

Amy smiled back, trying not to get too excited. She was back in the TARDIS, the Doctor was back in the universe, and they were going to blast off on some adventure at any moment. She could feel the excitement started to rush through her, and a tightening of her stomach told her not to look back. No more looking back. She didn't want to go back, and now she didn't have to.

"Well, you do look like you're a little late for something. Should we get going?" The Doctor muttered, pulling back and standing.

Amy snorted and looked down at her dress. "This is a little bad huh? Sitting here in my wedding dress, and not exactly in a hurry. Although really Doctor, I don't see why I have to be in a rush. You could always bring me to the chapel on time. Either now, or ten years from now. Well, if you don't mess up too badly." She gave him a little grin and stood up as well, walking towards the consol instead of the door as the Doctor had. "Close the door would you? We don't want a draft."

Amy stood at the edge of the walkway, looking down at her Doctor standing by the door. He stared back at her, his eyes glazing over a little as he thought. She could stay, and he could always return her to the doorway of the church on time for her wedding. Would it be right though, stealing her from the same event twice?

Would it be wrong? He wasn't actually stopping the wedding, and she wasn't exactly asking him to go, but rather demanding it. Who was he to tell her no? With a grin he closed the two doors behind him and strolled towards the ramp. "Well Amelia, what would you like to do before your wedding? I would think it gets to be the bride's choice."

Amy laughed and popped her hip out, placing her hand on her side. "You, the Doctor, Time Lord, can't think of a place to take me? Are you sure that you come back whole, everything as it should be?"

The Doctor glared and charged up the walkway. Hopping over the railing he growled, "Not whole? What is that supposed to mean 'not whole'?" He mocked her, turning her voice high pitched and girly. "You think I don't remember how to take you into the stars, how to show you the best parts of the universe? Amelia Jessica Pond, you are in for a surprise!" He stood over her, looking down into her eyes, trying not to laugh while she was trying to do the same.

Amy leaned forward and placed a hand on his chest. She pressed her nose against his and narrowed her eyes. "Prove it, Doctor."

The Doctor smiled and frantically pressed buttons, twirling around the consol like a madman. The TARDIS started wheezing and coughing, the body of the machine folding into time and space, and it's two passengers holding on to each other as they spun towards something new.

Rory stood nervously at the church. There were only 10 minutes until she was going to be here, and Amy would want everything to be perfect. For the hundredth time he tugged at his vest and straightened his hair in the mirror. He loved her, he really did, and he couldn't wait until she got here. They had known each other for so long, and had been the only person for the other. Since childhood they had been tied at the hip, and now they would be tied together for the rest of their lives.

A small knock on the door pulled his attention away from the mirror. Walking over stiltedly he stopped just shy of the door. "Amy, if that's you, its bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

A small snort came through the wood, and Rory knew that noise. Opening this door was probably best for his continued health. Challenging his bride-to-be was never a good idea. He tugged back the door and stepped aside, allowing the woman to enter, but clutching his other hand to his eyes, trying to not peek at her. Everything should go smoothly.

"Oh Rory, at this point I really don't think that's going to matter." Amy said softly, and Rory hesitantly dropped his hand.

Opening his eyes Rory started, not exactly sure who he was talking to. It was Amy, or at least he thought it was her. She was older, her vibrant red hair now mixed with gray. Small wrinkles had started to form around her eyes, and her eyes seemed to look at him with so much more knowledge than had been there just hours before. She wasn't supposed to be here for another five minutes, but that was when it happened. Across town Amy stared at a journal, while another Amy stared Rory in the face, proof that something odd had happened.

The Amy across town opened her mouth and whispered, "Raggedy Man, no, Raggedy Doctor."

The Amy in front of Rory said nothing.

Rory started to remember. Everything. The time, the waiting, the strength he had needed. He processed the information, letting himself focus on the memories, the dreams, which were starting to overtake him. He came back to himself after a few minutes, so much more than he had been just a few hours before. Looking at the Amy in front of him he knew, understood what her age meant.

"I'll tell them." Was all he said, reaching out to touch her, but dropping his hand back down. He knew that across town his Amy was running away, again, with the Doctor, but this time she wasn't coming back.

He left, knowing the guests would be confused. It would seem like Amy had just vanished, but he knew where she was. He would always know. He wouldn't wait, not anymore, but he would love her.


End file.
